Fukushima Daiichi NPS Prompt Report 2015

TOKYO, December 16, 2015 - Robots are playing an ever-increasing role in the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, and a group of the latest have been designed to decontaminate the upper floors of reactor buildings by using high-pressure water and dry ice.

The robots are being deployed on the second and third floors of reactor buildings where radioactivity remains too high for individuals to work safely. The robots are equipped with wireless communications, can run over uneven surfaces, and can all run with the same interchangeable base. They include a robot arm that can blast high-pressure water, a robot that uses dry ice, and a robot that uses abrasives and suction power.

In some areas, high-pressure water is sprayed from the robot arm to decontaminate surfaces. In others, dry ice particles are generated from a large block of dry ice. Then they are mixed with compressed air supplied from a support vehicle. The mixture is sprayed over contaminated objects and then the objects are retrieved. The Dry Ice Blast Decontamination Unit is designed to be capable of 20-minute decontamination work for each block of dry ice and the equipment can carry three blocks at a time.

A "suction and blast decontamination unit" is a robot that sprays abrasive over target objects and then scrapes the surface to remove the decontaminated objects. The abrasive can be separated and re-used after the contaminated objects are retrieved.

These robots are developed in conjunction with IRID, Mitsubishi, Hitachi-GE, and Toshiba. Collaborating with supporting partner companies is essential for decontaminating the site and with these robots mock-up testing are expected to be completed by the end of FY 2015.

About TEPCO
Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. (TEPCO) is Japan's largest power company, supplying energy to the greater Kanto area, including Japan's two most populous cities, Tokyo and Yokohama. Its 34,000 employees are committed to providing safe, reliable power to its 29.0 million customers, diversifying energy resources to ensure sustainability, and contributing to economic growth while fully meeting its responsibilities after the Fukushima Daiichi accident.
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